Buchanan Urged to Stay a Republican at Meeting

The Rev. Pat Robertson on Friday joined the chorus urging Patrick J. Buchanan to stick with the Republican Party--and warned that Christian conservatives won’t follow a renegade Buchanan if he seeks the Reform Party nomination.

Speaking to reporters attending the Christian Coalition’s annual conference, Robertson asserted the Reform Party is “180 degrees out in terms of the social issues.”

“They don’t share any of the views that Pat Buchanan claimed to espouse so vociferously,” said Robertson, the president of the group. “I can’t see him taking many Christian conservatives with him. Not to the Reform Party.”

Buchanan’s career plans have become a near obsession within the GOP; while some welcome his departure--particularly after his recent provocative statements that seem to question U.S. involvement in World War II--others worry that his exit would provide a boost to the eventual Democratic nominee by splintering the conservative vote.

While scoffing at that notion, Robertson urged Buchanan to stay put. “The time will come when we have to choose between two candidates for president of the United States,” he said, addressing the roughly 3,000 Christian activists gathered for two days of strategizing, workshops and presidential candidate speeches. “Hopefully, it’s not going to be three.”

Buchanan declined to comment. He was originally set to address the convention today but canceled because of a scheduling conflict, according to a campaign spokeswoman.

Still, discussion of third-party politics--and Reform Party personalities--recurred throughout the day, centered as much on the coy Buchanan as the controversial Jesse Ventura, the Minnesota governor who offered his own provocative thoughts on religion in a Playboy magazine interview released this week.

Ventura, the Reform Party’s highest elected officeholder, called organized religion “a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers.”

GOP presidential hopeful Steve Forbes demanded an apology from Ventura in a statement passed out at Friday’s gathering. “Public officials who disparage and bully people of faith belittle themselves,” Forbes said. “Faith is not a crutch. It’s a wellspring of strength and hope for the humble.”

Rival Gary Bauer denounced the governor as “Jesse ‘The Bigot’ Ventura”--playing off the former pro wrestler’s moniker of “Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura.” Robertson said Ventura was “off his rocker.”

In one of the day’s stranger subplots, Bauer was introduced as “a wonderful and faithful husband” by his wife, Carol, who related the “living hell” they have experienced as a result of rumors of an extramarital affair involving the candidate and a young aide. Although Bauer called a news conference earlier this week to vehemently deny any improprieties, he never mentioned the subject in his remarks. Instead, he challenged Forbes and Texas Gov. George W. Bush to a series of debates: “What are you afraid of? Let’s get on the same stage and talk about the great issues facing our country.”

Bush, who preceded Bauer, drew a warm response, notwithstanding the short shrift he has given issues, such as abortion and gay rights, that top the Christian Coalition agenda.

The GOP front-runner delivered his standard address--calling for lower taxes, tort reform and a military buildup--with a slight variation: He called for “parental consent” legislation to require adult notification before a minor can have an abortion.

“When a child’s in crisis, parents should have a role and a voice,” Bush said, drawing sustained applause. “They should be the first to help, not the last to know.”

The delegates also heard from Elizabeth Hanford Dole, who spoke of the importance of faith in her daily life.